Eco-innovation globally emerged as an effort to implement sustainable development. States and firms established and implemented policies and strategies for eco-innovation as one route to achieving sustainable development. Eco-innovation has been facilitated in developed countries, specifically OECD members and European countries, through action plans. Recently, eco-innovation policies have emerged in developing countries. Thus, this study analyzes eco-innovation policies in Asian countries. Policies related to eco-innovation in 17 Asian countries were investigated using policy instrument categories. National policies for eco-innovation were interpreted and compared with development stage classifications. The results indicate that there are similar and different policy approaches to eco-innovation in Asian countries. Given the balance between a technology push (supply side) and a market pull (demand side) in policy instruments for eco-innovation, 17 countries were identified by four categories: leaders, followers, loungers, and laggards. The results provide insight for designing national strategies for eco-innovation in Asia’s developing countries.
Support for carbon pricing is growing around the world. Governments, businesses and investors are recognising that nationally-appropriate taxes and trading schemes, as part of a well-aligned package of policies for low-carbon change, can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions without harming the economy. Strong, predictable and rising carbon prices send an important signal to markets, helping to align expectations on the direction of change, thereby steering consumption choices and the type of investments made in infrastructure and innovation. They also raise fiscal revenues that can be put to productive uses. Around 40 national jurisdictions and over 20 cities, states and regions, have adopted or are planning explicit carbon prices, covering about 12% of global GHG emissions. The number of carbon pricing instruments implemented or scheduled has almost doubled from 20 to 38 since 2012. Over 1000 major companies and investors have endorsed carbon pricing, and around 450 now use an internal carbon price (US$40/t CO2 or higher for some major oil companies) to guide investment decisions, up from 150 companies in 2014.
Environmental impacts are increasing due to human activities. The overuse of the benefits nature provides us is the direct result of our failure to put a price on these benefits. One way of addressing this is to require environmental compensation.
This study provides an overview of key conditions for increased, flexible and cost-effective application of compensation. It shows that for a relatively small cost, society can make a significant investment in the provision of biodiversity and ecosystem services by requiring compensation.
The study outlines three main recommendations on how to increase the use of environmental compensation: stimulating supply of, and demand for compensation; clarifying guidelines and legal framework; and strengthening Nordic cooperation on compensation.
In the wake of the Copenhagen Accord in 2009 and amid frustration with the slow pace of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) talks, a number of bilateral and plurilateral efforts and technology initiatives has been launched to deal with international climate policy. Bilateral efforts such as the November 2014 joint announcement between the United States (US) and China have provided welcome momentum. These minilateral efforts, together with the broader multilateral ones, constitute the emerging “regime complex” for climate change. In such a world, ambition in climate action must come from national governments as well as from international agreements. For promoting such ambition, key tools include market-based mechanisms that cap emissions of carbon dioxide and other global warming pollutants, and allow nations and firms that reduce emissions below capped levels to save, sell, and trade surplus units of allowable emissions. Such systems are in effect today in more than 50 countries, states, cities, and provinces where almost a billion people live.
This book identifies the drivers and success factors of green industrial policy, which seeks to reconcile the synergies and trade-offs which exist between economic and environmental goals. Greening the economy is a goal which will require enormous investment. As markets are currently failing to provide the required incentives for environmental sustainability, governments must intervene and provide ‘policy rents’ for investments in sustainability while withdrawing rents from polluting investments. In this they will face the risk of political capture by interest groups and difficult choices among technologies. Rent management is therefore the heart of green industrial policy and the focus of this book. On top of this, the country examples provided in this volume focus on the emerging powers, which will have an important influence on the future of our planet.